BLG Logistics increases group sales to over a billion euros

At the press conference on the financial statements in Bremen on April 5, 2017 the Board of Management at BLG Logistics presented the results of the past financial year.

CEO Frank Dreeke was pleased: “because we were able to achieve what we forecast a year ago and managed to increase sales in all three divisions in 2016. The operating result of the BLG Group is slightly above that of the previous year. In our estimation the economic situation of the BLG Group remains stable, but is capable of improvement.”

For 2016 BLG Logistics reports sales of one billion and 45.6 million euros. That represents a plus of 107 million euros or 11.4% so that the Group lies exactly in the forecast target corridor. All three divisions – Automobile, Contract and Container – recorded significant growth in sales. The earnings before taxes (EBT) came to 30.8 million euros and thus surpassed the level in the previous year (+ 3.7%). The strongest division in 2016 with sales of 574.5 million euros was again Contract Logistics. Thanks to augmented business activities with existing and new customers as well as expansion in the Freight Forwarding segment through takeover of the Fortagroup at the beginning of the 2016 financial year, sales rose by 95.7 million euros as compared to the previous year.

The Automobile Division increased its sales in the year under review by 2.6% to 473.7 million euros. The operating result of the division declined slightly in comparison to the previous year, however. The reasons for this are productivity losses and lower cargo handling volumes at the Bremerhaven Auto Terminal as well as self-contracting on the part of a client in Eastern Europe. The Container Division of the BLG Group is represented by half of the shares in Eurogate. The European terminal operator group earned sales of 639.4 million euros in the 2016 financial year. The share of the BLG Group thus amounts to 319.7 million euros. Eurogate strengthened its position as a leading shipping-company-independent container terminal operator in Europe.

At the press conference on the financial statements Frank Dreeke also stated his outlook for 2017: “Today we are already at the end of the 1st quarter of the 2017 financial year. The world situation has not become any clearer, rather tensions are tending to increase, possible trade barriers are a daily subject of discussion. It’s not getting any easier to make prognoses. The BLG Group started off the year better than in the previous years – that’s something we can affirm. For this reason we are optimistic that we can implement our planning for 2017.”

In the course of the press conference the Board of Management presented the Financial Report, the Company Report with the motto “Uniquely Diverse” as well as the 2016 Sustainability Report. Ensuring sustainable action is regarded as a key factor in the future development of the sector.